Local skating judge puts difficulty of Olympic win in perspective

DOVER — When the United States won its first ever Olympic gold medal in ice dancing Monday, the male partner Charlie White commented, “That in itself justified 17 years of hard work.”

In Dover, nodding at those words was Sarahjayne Howland.

“In figure skating, most people see the moves and comment on how pretty and cool the performers look, with no knowledge as to how they arrived at the peak of the sport,” she said.

Howland is a silver-rated judge for figure skating and has a daughter who is a national figure skating champion.

“There a large number of steps to reach the Olympics. Here in Dover at our rink we have hosted numerous levels, including national competitions,” she said. Howland held up a binder with 342 pages in it. “These are the international rules of skating,” she explained. “This is an abbreviated version and they change every year.

Dover is a well-recognized skating location and General Manager Pat McNulty is the reason for it, said Howland. “The Dover Rink hosts many events and McNulty is the reason for Dover's name to be in the forefront, he is amazing,” she said.

“If it happens on ice,” said McNulty, “we are willing to help.

“When I see all the hard work that goes into an Olympic event, it just reminds me, it is them against the world.”

St. Thomas Aquinas High School freshman Olivia Cama got her start at the Dover rink and now is a member of the prestigious Skating Club of Boston. Cama, a two-time national medalist, is a member of their award-winning synchronized skating team. “Synchronized is different from what you see on the Olympics,” she explained. “We have 16 girls on the ice during a competition and everyone has to be perfect.”

According to Howland, whose daughter is a member of a national champion synchro team, “It is like 16 Kristi Yamaguchis at the same time,”she explained, referring to the 1992 Olympic singles champion.

Synchronized is not an Olympic sport, but there is potential for 2018 if the logistics can be worked out. Cama commented that if that is the case, “I want to be there competing.”

If, after watching skating in the Olympics, Seacoast residents have a desire to see high level skating locally, the Whittemore Center in Durham will be hosting a skating exhibition of all disciplines this Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Admission is free and donations will be accepted. The funds will go toward helping send the University of New Hampshire Freestyle Skating Club to Colorado to compete in the United States Collegiate Figure Skating Championships.

“The level will be very high, and the public will get a chance to see what they have been looking at on television up close and personal,” said Howland.